Jailhouse Accommodation Reviews

Reviews & Ratings Explained

87%

Rating

2646 Total Reviews

85%Value For Money

91%Security

76%Location

89%Staff

86%Atmosphere

93%Cleanliness

87%Facilities

The rating percentage is calculated from customers who booked within the last 12 months.

All ratings and reviews are based on the feedback and opinions of the customers who submitted them and do not express the opinions of Hostelworld.com. This way, you get an up-to-the-minute opinion of just how good a hostel really is. Read our review guidelines »

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97%

nice and very quit hostel
it has a nice atmosphere and very good staff.
sleeping in a jail cell is something you should do

What a brilliant place. Quite a bizarre feeling staying in a jail cell but comfortable, novel. Excellent staff, very helpful. I arrived on the Tranz Alpine Express train so the location was convenient as it's only a short walk from the railway station but slightly less so for the city centre. A small general store and a few decent restaurants within a few minutes tho. The manager got us a good deal on car hire and recommended our next hostel too which was fantastic. Hard to fault for our needs.

After two full days of traveling I arrived at ChCh at midnight and chose to forgo a late hostel arrival (the
ChCh airport has basically a bag-packers floor lounge costing 5.00) Took the Super Shuttle which has gone up to 24.00 to Jailhouse Hostel. Great environment lounge, TV room etc. The 10 person dorm was clean and nice sturdy bunk beds with good linens toilet in room and showers right down the hall, Please Note the SIGNS to PULL up on toilets after flushing! I think a lot of water is wasted

Thanks for taking the time to rate our hostel and it's good to hear that you enjoyed your stay overall. We're sorry you had an uncomfortable experience with the bed and so glad you brought it to our attention. We have now replaced the mattress and your comments have prompted us to carry out checks on all the others. Thanks again and we hope to see you in Jail again soon!
The Jailhouse Team

69%

I appreciate the reuse of the former jail with the "cells" very much, especially the common space in the middle. What I missed really was to have even a washbasin in the room, although - according to the exemplary cell - the water connection should be exist.

The hostel was interesting. Really cool to stay in an actual prison! The kitchen was well equipped and clean and staff was friendly. They had bikes that you could use, but had to hire for 4 hours for $10. The main problem for me was the location, if you want to cook food here you have to walk for about 40 minutes to get to a supermarket (that's one way). Obviously not the hostel's fault but still annoying. The room didn't have a lamp or sidelight so it was either really bright or pitch black.

Thank you for taking the time to rate our hostel and it's good to see that overall you enjoyed your stay. We are only 3 minutes walk from the convenience store which sells most basics. The big supermarkets are around 25 minutes walk or you can take the frequent bus service from just outside the hostel which goes to the mall where there is a large supermarket and the trip time is only around 8 minutes.
Thanks again and we hope to see you in Jail again soon

I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at the jailhouse. It's an amazing piece of history well preserved. Great coffee, friendly staff, good facilities. I was really impressed with the kitchen facilities. The first night sleep was unexpectedly peaceful. The doors opening and closing in the middle of the night was very authentically eerie which didn't bother me. The Wairua (spirit) of the place was very calm. I'm sure many a prayer were spoken within those walls. Definitely stay again.
Kia Ora.

I definitely expected more of this hostel. There were no activities going on and the location is not central at all. It was clean, but I had definitely more modern looking bathrooms in other cheaper hostels.
The room ( 6 bed ) was at least nice and there was enough place for the luggage.

Lovely! Have now been twice in jail in NZ. Contrary to real jail I would have liked to stay somewhat longer. Thankfull I remeber that toilets and showers where controlled and if necessary cleaned several times a day. This shouled be copied by YHA hostels in Australia.

Without doubt one of the best hostels I have stayed in. Brilliant concept, lovely and clean, fantastic facilities. Staff very helpful and lovely (a girl from Barnsley, England) and went out of her way to help me. Cant really think of any downsides about it. Good area too, some bars and take aways, only 15 min walk to CBD. Would definitely recommend